Irregular initial solidification by mold thermal monitoring in the continuous casting of steels:A review

Occasional irregular initial solidification phenomena,including stickers,deep oscillation marks,depressions,and surface cracks of strand shells in continuous casting molds,are important limitations for developing the high-efficiency continuous casting of steels.The application of mold thermal monitoring(MTM) systems,which use thermocouples to detect and respond to temperature variations in molds,has become an effective method to address irregular initial solidification phenomena.Such systems are widely applied in numerous steel companies for sticker breakout prediction.However,monitoring the surface defects of strands remains immature.Hence,indepth research is necessary to utilize the potential advantages and comprehensive monitoring of MTM systems.This paper summarizes what is included in the irregular initial solidification phenomena and systematically reviews the current state of research on these phenomena by the MTM systems.Furthermore,the influences of mold slag behavior on monitoring these phenomena are analyzed.Finally,the remaining problems of the formation mechanisms and investigations of irregular initial solidification phenomena are discussed,and future research directions are proposed.

Dynamic Constraint-Driven Event-Triggered Control of Strict-Feedback Systems Without Max/Min Values on Irregular Constraints

This work proposes an event-triggered adaptive control approach for a class of uncertain nonlinear systems under irregular constraints.Unlike the constraints considered in most existing papers,here the external irregular constraints are considered and a constraints switching mechanism(CSM)is introduced to circumvent the difficulties arising from irregular output constraints.Based on the CSM,a new class of generalized barrier functions are constructed,which allows the control results to be independent of the maximum and minimum values(MMVs)of constraints and thus extends the existing results.Finally,we proposed a novel dynamic constraint-driven event-triggered strategy(DCDETS),under which the stress on signal transmission is reduced greatly and no constraints are violated by making a dynamic trade-off among system state,external constraints,and inter-execution intervals.It is proved that the system output is driven to close to the reference trajectory and the semi-global stability is guaranteed under the proposed control scheme,regardless of the external irregular output constraints.Simulation also verifies the effectiveness and benefits of the proposed method.

Performance and Complexity Trade-Off between Short-Length Regular and Irregular LDPC

In this paper, both the high-complexity near-ML list decoding and the low-complexity belief propagation decoding are tested for some well-known regular and irregular LDPC codes. The complexity and performance trade-off is shown clearly and demonstrated with the paradigm of hybrid decoding. For regular LDPC code, the SNR-threshold performance and error-floor performance could be improved to the optimal level of ML decoding if the decoding complexity is progressively increased, usually corresponding to the near-ML decoding with progressively increased size of list. For irregular LDPC code, the SNR-threshold performance and error-floor performance could only be improved to a bottle-neck even with unlimited decoding complexity. However, with the technique of CRC-aided hybrid decoding, the ML performance could be greatly improved and approached with reasonable complexity thanks to the improved code-weight distribution from the concatenation of CRC and irregular LDPC code. Finally, CRC-aided 5GNR-LDPC code is evaluated and the capacity-approaching capability is shown.

Irregular seismic data reconstruction based on exponential threshold model of POCS method

Irregular seismic data causes problems with multi-trace processing algorithms and degrades processing quality. We introduce the Projection onto Convex Sets （POCS） based image restoration method into the seismic data reconstruction field to interpolate irregularly missing traces. For entire dead traces, we transfer the POCS iteration reconstruction process from the time to frequency domain to save computational cost because forward and reverse Fourier time transforms are not needed. In each iteration, the selection threshold parameter is important for reconstruction efficiency. In this paper, we designed two types of threshold models to reconstruct irregularly missing seismic data. The experimental results show that an exponential threshold can greatly reduce iterations and improve reconstruction efficiency compared to a linear threshold for the same reconstruction result. We also analyze the anti- noise and anti-alias ability of the POCS reconstruction method. Finally, theoretical model tests and real data examples indicate that the proposed method is efficient and applicable.

Variable-coordinate forward modeling of irregular surface based on dual-variable grid

The mapping method is a forward-modeling method that transforms the irregular surface to horizontal by mapping the rectangular grid as curved; moreover, the wave field calculations move from the physical domain to the calculation domain. The mapping method deals with the irregular surface and the low-velocity layer underneath it using a fine grid. For the deeper high-velocity layers, the use of a fine grid causes local oversampling. In addition, when the irregular surface is transformed to horizontal, the flattened interface below the surface is transformed to curved, which produces inaccurate modeling results because of the presence of ladder-like burrs in the simulated seismic wave. Thus, we propose the mapping method based on the dual-variable finite-difference staggered grid. The proposed method uses different size grid spacings in different regions and locally variable time steps to match the size variability of grid spacings. Numerical examples suggest that the proposed method requires less memory storage capacity and improves the computational efficiency compared with forward modeling methods based on the conventional grid.

Ray path of head waves with irregular interfaces

Head waves are usually considered to be the refracted waves propagating along flat interfaces with an underlying higher velocity.However,the path that the rays travel along in media with irregular interfaces is not clear.Here we study the problem by simulation using a new approach of the spectral-element method with some overlapped elements（SEMO） that can accurately evaluate waves traveling along an irregular interface.Consequently,the head waves are separated from interface waves by a time window.Thus,their energy and arrival time changes can be analyzed independently.These analyses demonstrate that,contrary to the case for head waves propagating along a flat interface,there are two mechanisms for head waves traveling along an irregular interface：a refraction mechanism and transmission mechanism.That is,the head waves may be refracted waves propagating along the interface or transmitted waves induced by the waves propagating in the higher-velocity media.Such knowledge will be helpful in constructing a more accurate inversion method,such as head wave travel-time tomography,and in obtaining a more accurate model of subsurface structure which is very important for understanding the formation mechanism of some special areas,such as the Tibetan Plateau.

Research of CRP-based irregular 2D seismic acquisition

Seismic exploration in the mountainous areas of western Chinese is extremely difficult because of the complexity of the surface and subsurface, which results in shooting difficulties, seismic data with low signal-to-noise ratio, and strong interference. The complexity of the subsurface structure leads to strong scattering of the refl ection points; thus, the curved-line acquisition method has been used. However, the actual subsurface structural characteristics have been rarely considered. We propose a design method for irregular acquisition based on common refl ection points（CRP） to avoid difficult-to-shoot areas, while considering the structural characteristics and CRP positions and optimizing the surfacereceiving line position. We arrange the positions of the receiving points to ensure as little dispersion of subsurface CRP as possible to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the seismic data. We verify the applicability of the method using actual data from a site in Sichuan Basin. The proposed method apparently solves the problem of seismic data acquisition and facilitates seismic exploration in structurally complex areas.

Crystallization Modulation and Holistic Passivation Enables Efficient Two‑Terminal Perovskite/CuIn(Ga)Se_(2)Tandem Solar Cells

Two-terminal(2-T)perovskite(PVK)/CuIn(Ga)Se_(2)(CIGS)tandem solar cells(TSCs)have been considered as an ideal tandem cell because of their best bandgap matching regarding to Shockley–Queisser(S–Q)limits.However,the nature of the irregular rough morphology of commercial CIGS prevents people from improving tandem device performances.In this paper,D-homoserine lactone hydrochloride is proven to improve coverage of PVK materials on irregular rough CIGS surfaces and also passivate bulk defects by modulating the growth of PVK crystals.In addition,the minority carriers near the PVK/C60 interface and the incompletely passivated trap states caused interface recombination.A surface reconstruction with 2-thiopheneethylammonium iodide and N,N-dimethylformamide assisted passivates the defect sites located at the surface and grain boundaries.Meanwhile,LiF is used to create this field effect,repelling hole carriers away from the PVK and C60 interface and thus reducing recombination.As a result,a 2-T PVK/CIGS tandem yielded a power conversion efficiency of 24.6%(0.16 cm^(2)),one of the highest results for 2-T PVK/CIGS TSCs to our knowledge.This validation underscores the potential of our methodology in achieving superior performance in PVK/CIGS tandem solar cells.

An Irregular Wave Generating Approach Based on naoe-FOAM-SJTU Solver

In this paper,a wave generating approach for long-crest irregular waves in a numerical tank by our in-house solver naoe-FOAM-SJTU is presented.The naoe-FOAM-SJTU solver is developed using an open source tool kit,Open FOAM.Reynolds-averaged Navier？Stokes（RANS） equations are chosen as governing equations and the volume of fluid（VOF） is employed to capture the two phases interface.Incoming wave group is generated by imposing the boundary conditions of the tank inlet.A spectrum based correction procedure is developed to make the measured spectrum approaching to the target spectrum.This procedure can automatically adjust the wave generation signal based on the measured wave elevation by wave height probe in numerical wave tank.After 3 to 4 iterations,the measured spectrum agrees well with the target one.In order to validate this method,several wave spectra are chosen and validated in the numerical wave tank,with comparison between the final measured and target spectra.In order to investigate a practical situation,a modified Wigley hull is placed in the wave tank with incoming irregular waves.The wave-induced heave and pitch motions are treated by Fourier analysis to obtain motion responses,showing good agreements with the measurements.

Irregular surface of carotid atherosclerotic plaque is associated with ischemic stroke: a magnetic resonance imaging study

Objective To determine the association between the irregularity of carotid plaque surface using multidimensional magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) of ipsilateral acute cerebral infarction(ACI) cases. Methods Patients with recent cerebrovascular symptoms(stroke or transient ischemic attack < 2 weeks) and atherosclerotic plaque in at least one carotid artery were diagnosed by B-mode ultrasound imaging(intima-media thickness ≥ 1.5 mm) and recruited for the present study. Irregular surface was defined when plaque surface was uneven with high and low fluctuation or plaque with surface ulceration. The irregularity of carotid plaque surface was determined on axial or oblique images alone(single-dimension) and on both axial images and oblique images(multidimensions), separately. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to calculate the odds ratio(OR) and the corresponding 95% CI of the irregular plaque surface in discriminating the presence of ipsilateral ACI. Results A total of 217 included subjects(mean age: 60.7 ± 10.2 years, 149 men) were recruited and 89(41.0%), 88(40.6%) and 118(54.4%) of them exhibited irregular plaque surface on axial, oblique and multidimensional MR images, respectively. The OR of irregularity of the plaque surface was determined by multidimensional MRI to be 5.88(95% CI: 3.16–10.96, P < 0.001) in discriminating the presence of ipsilateral ACI. Following adjustment for clinical confounding factors, this association remained statistically significant(OR = 5.65, 95% CI: 2.53–12.60, P < 0.001). The analysis included further adjustment for the presence of lipid-rich necrotic core, intraplaque hemorrhage and stenosis and the results included that this association also remained statistically significant(OR = 6.08, 95% CI: 2.52–14.68, P < 0.001). Conclusions The irregular plaque surface was determined by multidimensional MRI as an independent indicator for ipsilateral acute cerebral infarction.

Mechanism of rock burst caused by fracture of key strata during irregular working face mining and its prevention methods

To study the occurrence mechanism of rock burst during mining the irregular working face,the study took irregular panel 7447 near fault tectonic as an engineering background.The spatial fracture characteristic of overlying strata was analyzed by Winkler elastic foundation beam theory.Furthermore,the influence law of panel width to suspended width and limit breaking span of key strata were also analyzed by thin plate theory.Through micro-seismic monitoring,theoretical analysis,numerical simulation and working resistance of support of field measurement,this study investigated the fracture characteristic of overlying strata and mechanism of rock burst in irregular working face.The results show that the fracture characteristic of overlying strata shows a spatial trapezoid structure,with the main roof being as an undersurface.The fracture form changes from vertical‘‘O-X"type to transverse‘‘O-X"type with the increase of trapezoidal height.From the narrow mining face to the wide mining face,the suspended width of key strata is greater than its limit breaking width,and a strong dynamic load is produced by the fracture of key strata.The numerical simulation and micro-seismic monitoring results show that the initial fracture position of key strata is close to tailgate 7447.Also there is a high static load caused by fault tectonic.The dynamic and static combined load induce rock burst.Accordingly,a cooperative control technology was proposed,which can weaken dynamic load by hard roof directional hydraulic fracture and enhance surrounding rock by supporting system.

Formation Mechanism of "Drag Depressions" and Irregular Boundaries in Intraplate Deformation

Almost all intraplate caprocks experienced strong deformation during the convergence of microplates, and then disintegrated into many secondary geologic units with the special characters, such as irregular boundaries and particular structural assemblages. In order to understand the formation mechanism of these special phenomena, a rheological experiment on the structural scenery of the Tongling area is carried out. The result shows that the primary regular and uniform boundaries of the Tongling area becomes irregular because of the enclosing and confinement of surrounding geological units in the process of 'compression-shearing-rotation-drag'; simultaneously, two specific 'drag depressions' developed at two opposite corners of the block. The former and the later phenomena can be regarded as a typical regional-scale rheological effect and necessary outcome of intraplate deformation respectively.

Design Optimization of Irregular Cellular Structure for Additive Manufacturing

Irregularcellular structurehas great potential to be considered in light-weight design field. However, the research on optimizing irregular cellular structures has not yet been reporteddue to the difficulties in their modeling technology. Based on the variable density topology opti- mization theory, an efficient method for optimizing the topology of irregular cellular structures fabricated through additive manufacturing processes is proposed. The pro- posed method utilizes tangent circles to automatically generate the main outline of irregular cellular structure. The topological layoutof each cellstructure is optimized using the relative density informationobtained from the proposed modified SIMP method. A mapping relationship between cell structure and relative densityelement is builtto determine the diameter of each cell structure. The results show that the irregular cellular structure can be optimized with the proposed method. The results of simulation and experimental test are similar for irregular cellular structure, which indicate that the maximum deformation value obtained using the modified Solid Isotropic Microstructures with Penalization （SIMP） approach is lower 5.4× 10-5 mm than that using the SIMP approach under the same under the same external load. The proposed research provides the instruction to design the other irregular cellular structure.

Experimental Researches on Reflective and Transmitting Performances of Quarter Circular Breakwater Under Regular and Irregular Waves

A series of regular and irregular wave experiments are conducted to study the reflective and transmitting performances of quarter circular breakwater （QCB） in comparison with those of semi-circular breakwater （SCB）. Based on regular wave tests, the reflection and transmission characteristics of QCB are analyzed and a few influencing factors are investigated. Then, the wave energy dissipation as wave passing over the breakwater is discussed based on the hydraulic coefficients of QCB and SCB. In irregular wave experiments, the reflection coefficients of QCB and their spectrums are studied. Finally, the comparisons between the experimental results and numerical simulations for QCB under regular and irregular wave conditions are presented.

Effect of Berm Width and Elevation on Irregular Wave Run-Up

This paper discusses the effect of berm width and elevation of composite slope on irregular wave run-up. Based on the data obtained from model tests, the formula and distribution of irregular wave run-up on composite slope are derived. The changing of wind speed, width and elevation of the berm are considered comprehensively. The wave run-up with various exceedance probability can be es-timated utilizing the distribution curves of irregular wave run-up.

Experimental study on the seismic response of braced reinforced concrete frame with irregular columns

A 15-storey K-braced reinforced concrete model frame with irregular columns, i.e., T-shaped, L-shaped, as well as ＋-shaped columns, was constructed and tested on the six-degree-of-freedom shaking table at the State Key Laboratory for Disaster Reduction in Civil Engineering in Tongji, China. Two types of earthquake records, El-Centro wave （south-north direction） and Shanghai artificial wave （SHAW） with various peak accelerations and principal-secondary sequences, were input and experimentally studied. Based on the shaking table tests and theoretical analysis, several observations can be made. The failure sequence of the model structure is brace→beam→column→joints, so that the design philosophy for several lines of defense has been achieved. Earthquake waves with different spectrums not only influence the magnitude and distribution of the earthquake force and the storey shear force, but also obviously affect the magnitude of the displacement response. The aftershock seismic response of previously damaged reinforced concrete braced frames with irregular columns possesses the equivalent elastic performance characteristic. Generally speaking, from the aspects of failure features and drift ratio, this type of reinforced concrete structure provides adequate earthquake resistance and can be promoted for use in China.

Experimental Study on Local Scour Around A Large Circular Cylinder Under Irregular Waves

A series of physical model tests are conducted for local scour around a circular cylinder of a relatively large diameter (0 15< D/L <0.5) under the action of irregular waves. The laws of change of the topography around the cylinder are systematically studied. The effects of wave height, wave period, water depth, sediment grain size and cylinder diameter are taken into account. The mechanism of formation of the topography around the cylinder is analyzed. A detailed analysis is given to bed sediment grain size, and it is considered that the depth of scour around the cylinder under wave action is not inversely proportional to the sediment grain diameter. On such a basis, an equation is proposed for calculation of the maximum depth of scour around a cylinder as well as its position under the action of irregular waves.

An Irregular Wave Maker of Active Absorption with VOF Method

A numerical irregular wave flume with active absorption of re-reflected waves is simulated by use of volume of fluid （VOF） method. An active ＇absorbing wave-maker based on linear wave theory is set on the left boundary of the wave flume. The progressive waves and the absorbing waves are generated simultaneously at the active wave generating-absorbing boundary. The absorbing waves are generated to eliminate the waves coming back to the generating boundary due to reflection from the outflow boundary and the structures. SIRW method proposed by Frigaard and Brorsen （1995） is used to separate the incident waves and reflected waves. The digital filters are designed based on the surface elevation signals of the two wave gauges. The corrected velocity of the wave-maker paddle is the output from the digital filter in real time. The numerical results of regular and irregular waves by the active absorbing-generating boundary are compared with the numerical results by the ordinary generating boundary to verify the performance of the active absorbing-generator boundary. The differences between the initial incident waves and the estimated incident waves are analyzed.

Numerical Simulation of Irregular Wave Overtopping Against A Smooth Sea Dike

Based on the filtered Navier-Stokes equations and Smagorinsky turbulence model, a numerical wave flume is developed to investigate the overtopping process of irregular waves over smooth sea dikes. Simulations of fully nonlinear standing wave and regular wave＇s run-up on a sea dike are carried out to validate the implementation of the numerical wave flume with wave generation and absorbing modules. To model stationary ergodic stochastic processes, several cases with different random seeds are computed for each specified irregular wave spectrum. It turns out that the statistical mean overtopping discharge shows good agreement with empirical formulas, other numerical results and experimental data.

A brief review of equatorial ionization anomaly and ionospheric irregularities

Following a brief history and progress of ionospheric research, this paper presents a brief review of the recent developments in the understanding of two major phenomena in low and mid latitude ionosphere—the equatorial ionization anomaly(EIA) and involved equatorial plasma fountain(EPF) and ionospheric irregularities. Unlike the easy-to-understand misinterpretations, the EPF involves field perpendicular E×B plasma drift and field-aligned plasma diffusion acting together and plasma flowing in the direction of the resultant at all points along the field lines at all altitudes. The EIA is formed mainly from the removal of plasma from around the equator by the upward E×B drift creating the trough and consequently the crests with small accumulation of plasma at the crests when the crests are within ~±20° magnetic latitudes and no accumulation when they are beyond ~±25° magnetic latitudes. The strong EIA under magnetically active conditions arises from the simultaneous impulsive action of eastward prompt penetration electric field and equatorward neutral wind. Intense ionospheric irregularities develop in the post-sunset bottom-side equatorial ionosphere when it rises to high altitudes, and evolve nonlinearly into the topside. Pre-reversal enhancement(PRE) of the vertical upward E×B drift and its fluctuations amplified during PRE provide the driving force and seed, with neutral wind and gravity waves being the primary sources. At low solar activity especially in summer when fast varying PRE is absent, the slow varying gravity waves including large scale waves(LSW)seem to act as both driver and seed for weak irregularities. At mid latitudes, the irregularities are weak and associated with medium scale traveling ionospheric disturbances(MSTIDs). A low latitude minimum in the occurrence of the irregularities at March equinox predicted by theoretical models is identified. The minimum occurs on the poleward side of the EIA crest and shifts equatorward from ~25° magnetic latitudes at high solar activity to below 17° at low solar activity.